Granada Information: WALKS
AROUND GRANADA |
Many spots in Granada combine urban splendour with the beauty of the
landscape. A variety of itineraries can be chosen. A good starting
point could be Plaza Nueva, the oldest square in Granada. The Darro
flows beneath it; the river is known to swell occasiopally to the
point of sweep ing along bits of rock and concrete that imprison it.
In Plaza Nueva, streets begin and come to an end, such as Elvira,
Cuesta de Gomerez and Carrera del Darro, places of stories, romance,
songs and paintings. In Plaza Nueva, the eyes are provided with marvellous
sights to contemplate, including the Alhambra, the Renaissance elegance
of the tower and facade of Santa Ana Church and the Pilar del Toro,
by Siloe, perhaps the most outstanding of the many pilares (public
fountains, often attached to a wall) that could once be found in Granada.
The centre of the square is occupied by the Real Chancilleria, the
Royal Chancery, with a front that has always caused opposing opinions.
Inside, there is an interesting courtyard and staircase. The Chancery
was completed in the second half of the seventeenth century. Plaza
Nueva is where Cale Elvira starts, a street named in countless couplets
and poets, and perhaps one of the longest and oldest streets in historical
Granada. Many of the streets that form the labyrinthine layout of
the Albaicin start in Calle Elvira; the street ends at the Arco de
Elvira, the city's main and most famous gate, and one of Granada's
oldest, as it existed as early as the ninth century; of the original
structure only the enormous horseshoe arch remains, protected by two
towers. This was a scene of the magnificent frontier romances of the
fifteenth century.
It is from Plaza Nueva where the Carrera del Darro begins, one of
the favourite streets for painters from all over the world. It dates
from the seventeenth century, and has only pavement. The first element
of note is the Puente del Cadi, a bridge that takes its name from
the judge that built it in the eleventh century. Practically opposite
are the Arab baths, which date from the same period and were in service
until the mid twentieth century; they are a direct antecedent of the
baths in the Alhambra. A little further ahead is the Convent of Santa
Catalina de Zafra which, as well as other curiosities, conserves a
complete Arab house in the interior.
Near to the convent is the Casa de Castril, now home to the Archaeology
Museum, with a plateresque front and a charming courtyard inside.
At the end of the Paseo de los Tristes, the hill known as the Cuesta
del Chapiz features alternating Morisco houses, carmenes and Mudejar
palaces. Almost at the end, leading off to the right, the route begins
up to the Sacromonte, the delight of the Darro Valley, known as Valparaiso,
home to the true and not so true gypsy caves and their inhabitants,
and finally the Sacromonte Abbey itself, with its history of saints
and martyrs, its works of art and its pantheistic landscape of Granada
in its purest form.
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